Beyoncé led the way yesterday in asking her fans to convert their sorrow and anger at recent police brutality into democratic action by petitioning their state and national lawmakers for change. Today her husband, Jay Z, is joining the effort by releasing a song he says he never got to finish, but which he says would sadly always be relevant. Titled “spiritual,” the track relates the thoughts and feelings of a black person living in the present United States. Its artwork is a solid black square, illustrating the mourning for the most recent victims, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. as well as the many others.

The song arrives at an especially sensitive time in US race relations, which have been further strained with the shooting of 11 police officers guarding a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas.